Time left: 27 days, 23 hours, 53 minutes

People alive: 1,979

I tell the pilot, "Let's go to the system with the Earth-like planet."

The pilot replies, "On it. And would you mind calling me Bradley?"

I nod, and Ronald says, "With that done, I think it would be a good time to meet the crew. My calculations say that it will take ten hours for us to reach the system."

I nod again and leave the bridge. A short while later, I find myself in the lower areas of the ship, inside the cargo management and storage facilities. A short and plump man greets me at the entrance. "Hello," he says, "I'm Carlson, the chief cargo manager."

I shake his hand and reply, "Hello. I have a lot of people to meet today, so in other words I'm rushing."

"Not a problem, I do that all the time. There's nothing much happening here right now, although I will give you updates over the course of the journey. Despite the odds of survival, the cargo crew seems very optimistic. As you know already, we have a week's worth of supplies."

"I have a feeling the crew's optimism will keep us alive. See you around the ship." I walk away while we wave to each other.

A minute later, I find myself in the central area of the ship, in the maintenance section. An able-bodied man greets me. He's been my co-worker for many years, and his name is Thomas. He says, "It's nice to see that you're fine. A few people were injured as we were flung, with one guy actually falling into the bio-fuel engine. He didn't make it."

I reply, "It's nice to see that you're okay as well. How is maintenance working out?"

"Badly. Very, very badly. You see, the Mercury has out-dated equipment, so our guys are getting busy after only a few minutes."

"Do you think we have a chance at making it to the outpost?"

"No."

That isn't a good sign. I say, "Well, I have more of the crew to see. Bye." I quickly run over to the ship's infirmary and find a lean woman at the front desk who is on the phone.

The woman says, "I'm Christine, the manager here...and wait...ANOTHER PERSON?! How many depressed people are on this ship? So, the death count is up to forty? I hate my job, frickin' depressed people." She hangs up. "Captain, things are really hitting the fan right now."

I say, "I can see that. What's been happening late-"

Her phone rings again. She says, "I'm not even going to answer anymore. The psychological health on this ship is taking a dive. Most of the ship is upset, so the depressed people are taken over the edge and they end themselves."

"That's sad, isn't it?"

"Captain, you have to understand the situation we are going through. If you are attached to even one hundred people in this ship, you will be throwing yourself into the ship's engine within a week. Don't have any emotional connections with anyone." The phone rings again. "GOD DAMN IT!"

I excuse myself and go back to the ship's bridge. Yet another person is here, a woman. I thought Christine was the last person I was supposed to meet, wasn't she? The woman here wears a modified Emberbreak helmet. She says, "No, I am not Desna. Desna is on the Skylark. I'm her little sister, Resna."

I tell Ronald, "Am I supposed to be meeting her?"

Ronald replies, "Yes, you have to meet every note-worthy crew member on this ship. Resna here wants to be the leader of the soldiers on this ship to create a militia of sorts."

I say, "She has permission. I'm sure she is the best, and I really can't spend time sorting out soldiers."

Resna, the moment she hears this, leaves the bridge. A moment later, the phone on the bridge rings. I pick it up and hear Thomas saying, "John, we have a problem."

I groan, "You don't say."

"John, this isn't the time for jokes. This is serious! The oxygen recycler is jammed, the ship's heating is jammed, and the ship's cooking stations are also jammed!"

"Then, repair them."

"That's the problem! We can only repair two of the three in the next ten hours."

"You've GOT to be kidding me."

"I'm not. The maintenance crew is hysterical right now and are not in good working condition. What should we repair John?"

"At least describe each option!"

Thomas pauses, thinking for a moment. "Without the oxygen recycler, the ship can only sustain life for 2,000 people for eight hours. Without the ship's heating, the ship's systems may freeze and some people may freeze before we get to the next system. Without the cooking stations, the crew stands a good chance of starving, or being poisoned from uncooked food before and during our stay at the system. What do you say John?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Decision time!

1. Repair the oxygen recycler and the heating.

2. Repair the oxygen recycler and the cooking stations.

3. Repair the heating and the cooking stations.

How many people will die from your decision? Choose wisely.

Time left: 27 days, 18 hours, 20 minutes

People alive: 1,954
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, I made the decision to repair the oxygen and the heating system. The suicides have been slowing down. The food is riddled with rat poisons and bacteria, so we can't eat. We won't be eating for a while, since the repair crewmen are not in the mood to repair at all.

If the Earth-like planet doesn't have life that is willing to help, we are dead.

The oxygen recycler is efficient enough to barely take us to the Earth-like planet. The heating is powerful enough to keep the main systems from freezing.

I am about to rest inside the captain's quarters when Carlson comes over to the bridge. He says, "Captain, I need to show you the food cargo hold." He walks away, and I follow him to a door. Carlson says, "This door leads to the food cargo hold. It's sealed tight. I can assure you, nothing can get past these doors. Even if a rat got in, the poisons and bacteria in the food would kill it." Carlson takes out a workpad and presses a button that opens the door. After that, there are several more bulletproof glass doors with each hiding a mountain of food. Chicken breasts, broccoli, potatoes. All are delicious but not edible. Carlson says, "As you can see, the boxes are not waterproof or rat-proof. They are nothing-proof, for simplicity's sake. I brought you here to tell you that as long as no one manages to break in here, we should be fine."

With that, I return to the bridge. I ask Ronald, "Carlson just told me that we have to stop people from breaking in, but why would someone want to break in and eat poisoned food?"

Ronald says, "People are weird. Starvation is a primal fear deeply ingrained in the human psyche, so people are willing to go to extreme lengths to combat starvation, even if their solution is counterproductive."

"The doors protecting the food are sealed, I think that no one could break in if they tried." I go to the captain's quarters and take a nap.

I wake up to a loud knocking on the door. I open it, and a group of the crew is there. Ronald, Carlson, Christine, and Resna all pull me over to the bridge and bring up the surveillance cameras. Ronald says, "It appears that a group of approximately fifty people have broken into the food storage."

I ask, "How? Carlson, I thought you said the doors were sealed!"

Carlson says, "I didn't say that the doors were strong. They managed to use a crowbar to pry open the first door and break in. It will take a while for them to open the other doors. I closed the first door on them, but they should be able to use the crowbar to get out again."

"A crowbar?!"

Resna slaps me and growls, "Stay focused, captain. We are only here to discuss what options we have to stop them. Time is short."

Ronald says, "She is right, we have to stop them from ravaging the food supplies. Once we have the cooking systems back, the food will be necessary for survival."

I say, "Then give me the options, damn it!"

Ronald brings up a set of notes on his workpad. "First, we can use the water jets built inside the food holds to slowly flood and drive them out. Second, we can send in the soldiers to use Venom Veilers and drive them out. Third, we can send in the soldiers to gun down the raiders with Blitz Needles."

Christine says, "There are heavy consequences for each option. The first option may cause water to leak into the food supply and cause extreme damage. The second option may further poison the food, which will require even more cooking to get rid of. It may also leak poison the ship's air supply. The third option may make the non-participants on board question you leadership, since after all you are just gunning down people."

Ronald says, "So what will it be captain? Will you use water jets, Venom Veilers, or Blitz Needles?"

I ponder the reasons for each and against each option. I say, "Let's use..."
-------------------------------------------
Decision time!

1.Use water jets.

2.Use Venom Veilers.

3.Use Blitz Needles.

What kind of leader are you?

Yes, s**t will really hit the fan in the next two decisions, and I will try to provide more context to the situation.

So, looks like you 2/3 of you want to massacre some people. Sounds good to me, the next part should be out soon.

Time left: 27 days, 01 hours, 38 minutes

People alive: 1,943

I tell them, "Tell one group with nails in their hands to charge first, then tell another group to charge using brooms to take down the radio guard. Quick!"

Ronald and Resna, not wanting to waste any time, immediately run and tell some knights. The knights then each take either nails or brooms and sit near the door while concealing their weapons the best they can.

The guards open the door and one says, "Hey, where's the captain? Our boss wants to talk to you!" Before he can start looking for me, the nail-wielders charge at the guards. The guard shouts to his team, "We can't lock the door in time! Call for backup!" The radio guard fumbles his radio. The guards open fire, taking down twenty people in one burst. The radio guard prepares to call for backup, but the broom-wielders have already broken through and begin beating the radio guard. Eventually, our knights, breathing heavily, stop beating the guards. I see Resna go up to the guards and take a set of keys from them.

She shouts, "Everyone, listen up! My squad of soldiers will find the weapons locker and take their equipment. All others must find the ship, board it, and make sure no enemy gets on!" Resna picks up the radio and mutters, "Crap, they're coming. Everyone, run!"

The next moment is chaos. Just try to imagine two thousand people running out of a room through a single door. Fortunately for me, I am close enough to the door to get out safely. I read a sign on a wall that says, "Right: Hangar Bays."

How convenient.

Anyway, in a moment more guards will find us. I turn right and sprint as fast as I can until I find myself and the crew in a giant hangar. Resna's soldiers have beaten us here and are in a shootout with the guards. One soldier yells above the gunshots, "The Mercury is on the far side of the hangar!" The soldiers continue fighting while the rest of us go for the Mercury. Eventually, the crew and I reach the open doors of the Mercury and get inside. I run into the bridge of the ship and ready the doors for closing. A whole half hour of non-stop gunshots reigns until the soldiers scurry into the Mercury.

Resna says to a camera, "Close the doors, close them!" I press a button on the controls to close the doors, and Bradley fastens himself into the pilot seat.

I go onto the intercom and say, "Everyone is to fasten themselves into their seats. Repeat, everyone is to fasten themselves into their seats." I fasten myself into a seat while Bradley pilots the Mercury out of the hangar. I feel the massive acceleration of the ship, which quickly takes us to the height of the clouds. However, something on the scanners steals my attention. I make out the shape of a giant space carrier chasing after us. On the side of the carrier, I read the words "Destructive Jealousy Inducing Nano-level Neutralizer." Scary. Fortunately, we don't have to feel the wrath of the DJINN, since we've already escaped the atmosphere and are heading towards...somewhere. Later, we reach cruising speed, so I get out of my seat.

Bradley tells me, "We are going to a nearby energy signature. Should take about two days to reach." I nod at him, not knowing what else we can do.

Ronald enters the bridge and tells me, "So captain, it looks like we barely escaped. Despite our hopes, it seems that we only have one micro-cooking station back online, which Thomas managed to repair before the encounter. It can cook and sustain ten people. I don't know much else. As secretary, I suggest that you meet up with the crew and find out some more problems we have, other than the obvious food problem."

I silently stand there until I muster up the courage to ask, "How many people died?"

"My estimate is a third of the crew. There was a lot of firepower, captain. These deaths would have happened no matter what we tried to do."

"Oh no...well, I'm just going to talk to someone. Take my mind of things, even while most of the crew are mourning their friends."

"That would be a wise thing to do, captain."

I leave the bridge and simply stop to think for a moment. A day ago, we were flung into space. Now, we are facing starvation and just escaped from the universe's largest jail. And it's only going to go downhill from here.

Who should I talk to?
----------------------------------------------
Decision time!

The next obstacle will be decided based on who you talk to.

1. Talk to Carlson

2. Talk to Thomas

3. Talk to Christine

4. Talk to Resna

A wise man once said, and I quote:

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, unless every step is shooting pain up your leg and the destruction of your soul. In this new situation, the journey of a thousand miles becomes a single step followed by nothingness."